Hitherto known circular looms comprise a plurality of partial heald shafts, which are arranged radially around the circular reed of the loom, and each has a plurality of inner and outer healds for the guidance of a part of the two systems of warp yarn distributed all around, which, for the formation of the weaving or travelling shed, are given by way of the main shaft a countercurrent up-and-down alternating motion. The weaving shuttles, circulated in the circular reed by the main shaft, carry the weft thread being unwound from the respective bobbin, continually into the travelling shed. The tubular fabric thus manufactured is then drawn off and collected as a flat tubular fabric.
A serious disadvantage of such circular looms is that thin places can be found in the fabric after a weft thread fault, for instance, owing to the depletion of the weft thread package of one or the other of the shuttles, or as a result of weft thread breakage. It is true that the usual weft thread supervising means on the reed of the loom are in a position to immediately transmit a stop signal in the case of a detected weft thread fault to the main shaft of the circular loom on one hand, and to the motor driving the fabric drawing-off device on the other hand, which, however, do not come to a standstill abruptly, but continue to turn under the effect of the considerable inertia of the main shaft. This results in a further drawing-off of the fabric, whereby, on recirculation of the shuttles, less weft threads per warp thread unit of length are woven in, since at least one weft thread is missing. As a rule, the shuttles can make another two to three revolutions after a loom stop signal until the loom comes to a complete standstill.